Whether you own a family van or a sports car, your vehicle is an important asset. And no matter how well you take care of it with regular oil changes, frequent washing, waxing and interior cleanings, your vehicle always runs the risk of losing value because of a few unrepaired dents or dings.
It doesn’t take much to alter your vehicle’s worth. Perhaps the truck in front of you on the highway dropped some gravel or some debris kicked up from the road. Maybe when you were in the grocery store a careless person knocked into your vehicle with a car door or a grocery cart went astray. Regardless of how your vehicle acquired damage, it’s most likely will cost a bit to repair. With the cost of traditional body shop repair and painting, it’s understandable vehicle owners often try to avoid repairing minor dents and dings for as long as possible.
The paintless dent removal method
Over the past decade, a repair method called paintless dent removal (PDR) has become widely used by car dealers, rental agencies and resale businesses to help prepare slightly-damaged cars for resale. As long as the paint was not compromised when the damage occurred, PDR can be used to repair some dents as large as a football. In the past few years, auto body repair shops have begun offering this convenient and cost-effective option to its customers.
PDR is different in that it approaches the damaged areas from the inside. Using specialized tools, technicians gently push back the metal from behind the dent. Access to the damage is usually gained through windows or by removing inner panels and trim pieces.
This method is unique because it can restore your vehicle’s body to its original appearance at a fraction of the cost of traditional body repair. The process includes the use of fabricated tools and techniques to safely remove dents and dings from most vehicle body panels.
Advantages include:
- Cost is much lower than traditional body repair
- No body filler
- No sanding
- No repainting
- No risk of color matching
- Turnaround time usually fast
Maintaining the value of your vehicle so important — whether you plan to keep your car for many years, or want to sell it someday for top dollar. Experts say a vehicle with its original paint retains a higher value than one that has been repainted.
If you have the damaged location repainted, no matter how small, it can suggest to a buyer and/or a trained appraiser that the vehicle has a history of collision. Any type of collision can significantly reduce the resale value of your vehicle.
While numerous auto dealerships and auto body repair shops now offer this unique and cost-effective service, be sure you rely on a reputable shop with plenty of PDR work experience before trusting them with your repair.
If you need any work done, or existing damage repaired, contact the Collision Center of Andover at (316) 733-9310, and we will get you back on the road.
Pesky Pollen: How to Protect Your Car’s Finish
Finally, it’s Spring! It feels great to get outdoors again, do some gardening and perhaps take a drive around town with your car windows down. Unfortunately, as the trees, plants and flowers begin to bloom, a powdery substance called pollen is released into the atmosphere.
In addition to being a nuisance for allergy sufferers, this yellow substance settles on the surface of everything, including your car. At Collision Center of Andover we have auto body technicians with many years of experience dealing with vehicles that have lost their luster from pollen or other causes.
We know hot great it feels to have a car that looks as new as when you first bought it, and we work hard to do just that for customers across Andover and Wichita. Just check out our Before and After collision repair photos to see our work!
Spring Issues for Your Vehicle: Pollen’s Effect on Cars
While a single pollen grain is microscopic, it can wreak havoc on your car’s paint – ultimately causing substantial damage to its finish. Because of pollen’s tendency to stick to surfaces as part of the pollination process, pollen needs to be physically removed from your car surface before the natural acids cause damage. A simple rain shower rinse cannot fully prevent staining or premature oxidation.
Can I just rinse pollen off my vehicle?
It may be tempting to just give your car a quick rinse with the hose or use a soft brush to remove the annoying yellow pollen powder from your car, but experts agree this has the potential for long-term damage by scratching the paint. While you may have rinsed some pollen away, a substantial amount of damaging pollen will remain and merely spraying it can activate some of its acidic qualities. This is most often the case with pine pollen because even a rain shower has the tendency to activate the pollen’s acidity.
How to remove pollen from cars finish
To ensure a bright and shiny finish, it’s recommended you wash your vehicle thoroughly with soap to fully encapsulate the pollen and rinse it away. It is also vital to wax your car regularly to further protect the finish.
Steps to effectively remove pollen:
While pollen has the potential of ruining your car’s finish, a simple soapy hand wash and wax a few times a week during the peak of spring should protect your car from long-term damage from pollen. While hand-washing your car can seem time-consuming, you are potentially adding years and value to your investment.
If you need any work done, or existing damage repaired, contact the Collision Center of Andover at (316) 733-9310, and we will get you back on the road. We offer a variety of services to make your car looking and running like new such as complete vehicle repaint and restoration and window glass repair and replacement.
Retaining the Value of your Car through Paintless Dent Repair
Whether you own a family van or a sports car, your vehicle is an important asset. And no matter how well you take care of it with regular oil changes, frequent washing, waxing and interior cleanings, your vehicle always runs the risk of losing value because of a few unrepaired dents or dings.
It doesn’t take much to alter your vehicle’s worth. Perhaps the truck in front of you on the highway dropped some gravel or some debris kicked up from the road. Maybe when you were in the grocery store a careless person knocked into your vehicle with a car door or a grocery cart went astray. Regardless of how your vehicle acquired damage, it’s most likely will cost a bit to repair. With the cost of traditional body shop repair and painting, it’s understandable vehicle owners often try to avoid repairing minor dents and dings for as long as possible.
The paintless dent removal method
Over the past decade, a repair method called paintless dent removal (PDR) has become widely used by car dealers, rental agencies and resale businesses to help prepare slightly-damaged cars for resale. As long as the paint was not compromised when the damage occurred, PDR can be used to repair some dents as large as a football. In the past few years, auto body repair shops have begun offering this convenient and cost-effective option to its customers.
PDR is different in that it approaches the damaged areas from the inside. Using specialized tools, technicians gently push back the metal from behind the dent. Access to the damage is usually gained through windows or by removing inner panels and trim pieces.
This method is unique because it can restore your vehicle’s body to its original appearance at a fraction of the cost of traditional body repair. The process includes the use of fabricated tools and techniques to safely remove dents and dings from most vehicle body panels.
Advantages include:
Maintaining the value of your vehicle so important — whether you plan to keep your car for many years, or want to sell it someday for top dollar. Experts say a vehicle with its original paint retains a higher value than one that has been repainted.
If you have the damaged location repainted, no matter how small, it can suggest to a buyer and/or a trained appraiser that the vehicle has a history of collision. Any type of collision can significantly reduce the resale value of your vehicle.
While numerous auto dealerships and auto body repair shops now offer this unique and cost-effective service, be sure you rely on a reputable shop with plenty of PDR work experience before trusting them with your repair.
If you need any work done, or existing damage repaired, contact the Collision Center of Andover at (316) 733-9310, and we will get you back on the road.
Tips on How to Prevent and Survive a Vehicle Rollover
The scenario is all too familiar. You’re driving along enjoying the scenery and you begin to list a little toward the right side of the road. Your tire suddenly clips some debris, and you feel the steeling wheel jerk. You panic as you think you are about to have a collision and you attempt to steer fast to the left until you realize there’s an oncoming car so you quickly steer to the right again. And then, you flip your car. You could end up in the hospital and your vehicle will have to be repaired at an auto body shop. Think about the damage to your body, your car, and your wallet.
It’s all too easy, no matter how fast you are driving, to cause your car to roll over. While taller, more narrow vehicles such as pickup trucks, vans and SUVs are considered more likely to roll because of a higher center of gravity and their top-heavy stature, given the right conditions, any vehicle can roll over. How you prepare yourself and how you learn to maneuver in such an emergency, however, can greatly influence a positive outcome.
What may cause a vehicle rollover:
Avoiding and surviving rollovers:
What to do during loss of vehicle control?
While the government has not yet created standards that involve vehicle rollover prevention, there are vehicle performance standards to help protect occupants in the event of such an emergency.
With revised roof-crush rules and the advancements in computerized technology such as electronic stability program (ESP) or dynamic stability control (DSC), it is estimated a substantial number of rollovers occur as the result of general loss of control. When you panic during an emergency situation, you are more likely to overcorrect steering which can cause you to lose control. When a vehicle begins to slide sideways due to a sharp turn, it will most likely roll over. Most experts agree, if your vehicle begins to leave the roadway, it is best to reduce your speed until it is safe to re enter the roadway.
If you need any work done or existing damage repaired by a trusted body shop that serves Andover and Wichita, KS areas, contact the Collision Center of Andover at (316) 733-9310, and we will get you back on the road.
Protecting Your Car’s Finish All Year
Every vehicle has a finish over the paint as a protective layer. This finish helps prevent the paint from being damaged due to weather or other issues. There are number of ways to protect this finish coating from being damaged and leaving your paint vulnerable.
10 Ways To Protect Your Car’s Finish
Is your finish or paint already less than perfect? Do you have scratches? Would you like to have it repaired and back to new condition? Give Collision Center of Andover a call today to restore your vehicles look to off-the-lot quality!
Spring’s Comin’ Protect Your Car from Hail Damage
Protecting your car from the elements can be a difficult task, especially during severe weather. In places where hail storms are prevalent, suffering serious damage to the car’s outer body is a genuine possibility.
Here are some steps that can be taken to avoid damage sustained during hailstorms.
It is important to know what type of weather conditions can manifest themselves as hailstorms. If you have checked the forecast and a mixture of hail and rain is predicted, you should get your car into a covered area as soon as possible. Ensure that it is not parked under a tree, because a severe storm might cause the branches to fall on your car.
For those who do not have any covered parking spots as an option, try covering the car with as many thick blankets as possible. This will not provide complete protection, but it should ensure that any damage sustained is limited to minor dents and scratches.
Under no circumstances should you be driving during a hailstorm. Weather conditions can be bad enough with rain and wind, but a particularly strong hail stone could hit your windshield and cause an accident and/or injury to you and others.
What to do if your car sustains hail damage?
If hail damage has already been inflicted on your car, it is best to take it to a repair center so that it can be properly repaired. Collision Center of Andover provides tow services for cars that are too damaged to drive, and full hail repairs to all afflicted areas.
Whether your car suffered windshield damage, roof damage, and/or and other issues due to a hailstorm or another cause, bring it in to Collision Center of Andover for assessment and repair.
Is your car ready to survive the fury of spring?
If you need any work done, or existing damage repaired, contact the Collision Center of Andover at (316) 733-9310, and we will get you back on the road.